Greetings, BTBers. As we transition from the blowout of the Rams and gear up for what is likely to prove a nail-biter on Sunday night at the Linc, let's pause for a moment to savor our fellow members' inspired scribblings. Yep, its time once again for the FanPost of the Week Awards. Curiously, the dominating win, featuring DeMarco Murray's record-setting performance, didn't yield nearly as many FanPosts as the heart-breaking losses against Detroit and New England. Perhaps this is because, with a convincing win, its hard to generate material beyond "Murray was awesome" and "the offensive line stepped up."
Then again, it might be because, despite this much needed win, most fans in the metroplex are rightly focused on the diamond rather than the gridiron, as teams from these same two cities that faced off in Cowboys Stadium squared off in the Fall Classic just down the block later in the day. Added to this is the sad reality that the win, while certainly welcome, came against a moribund Rams squad. As Pacman Jones famously said, "it's the Rams, dude." In the face of this, several of you stepped up and nailed extra base hits into the gap. One of you, however, had a night at the FanPost plate akin to Albert Pujols' historic three-homer, 6-RBI effort. Who is this Pujols of Posting? You'll just have to wait and see...
This week's winners after the jump...
Let's start by looking at this week's top performances. Leading off we have RomoCop, who penned a passionate pre-game post before last Sunday's contest in which he argued that this was the game in which the Cowboys fortunes would either "Rise or Fall." He followed that up with a gleeful post-game performance review. RC hits a stand-up double. The next two guys to the plate stroke line drives that go for base hits, both with similar post-game reviews. First up is Proxy 406, who celebrates what he hopes will be the "first of many" such performances (and then asks that Jerry Jones re-up Rob Ryan pronto); Bermystar then offers a post-game salute to Murray, with nice analysis of his key runs. None out and two on, and the big lumber is coming to the plate...
Who is this Pasha of Posting, this Kaiser of the keyboard, this Archduke of analysis? Why none other than Chia Crack, who strides to the plate with his 34-ounce pen in hand, ready to knock some cowhide out of the park. At this point in the game, Chia had already hit two dingers in two at-bats. In his first trip to the plate, with his own post-game take, the latest installment of his "game balls" series, Chia hit a shot into the bullpen; in his next turn at the dish, he turned on some good cheese and, with his piece on Abe Elam, hit a high, arcing rainbow that cut inside the left field foul pole.
With two on, Chia had a chance to make history. And make it he did, with a third bases-clearing blast that vanished into the night. This post, our FPOTW winner, takes a long (and I do mean long) look at the heir apparent to the Cowboy's throne, Stephen Jones. Chia's thesis--and one that I have espoused as well, rightly or wrongly--is that the junior Jones has taken more control of the franchise in recent years, with positive results. Crack reviews this history and parses which decisions reveal more of Stephen's influence (we know for sure that he wanted to hit his dad for signing Deion Sanders, a move which decimated the 90s Cowboys amazing depth).
Given that we can't really know how decisions are made at Valley Ranch (heck, I'm not sure Jerry knows), this is of course speculative. But its fun and, as Chia writes, "It's just reassuring and comforting knowing that the next owner of this franchise has experience in the business and will be making good decisions." Indeed, when I contemplate a future wherein the Dallas braintrust is the comparatively level-headed Stephen Jones and the cerebral Jason Garrett, I like what I foresee.
Come out of the dugout and take a bow, Mr. Crack. You had a FanPost week for the ages.